Divorce Failed My Wife's Secret Identities Shock the World novel Chapter 816

Andres was absolutely speechless. He shot Maeve a deeply unamused look that practically screamed, "Can we please stick to the facts?" He and Nancy Grover had never crossed any lines; there had never been a "thing" between them.

Leonardo and Corbin couldn't suppress their laughter. Slade, however, looked like he'd just struck gold. "Wait, seriously?"

To be fair, Slade couldn't be blamed for his ignorance regarding Andres's romantic history. They were frenemies at best—sometimes teaming up for a massive corporate raid, other times trying to rip each other's throats out. With one based in Aethelburg and the other in Port Caspian, they rarely spoke. He genuinely had no idea about the supposed history between Andres and Nancy.

Rubbing his chin, Slade nodded as the pieces clicked together. "So you're freezing out the Grovers over a personal vendetta. Andres, who knew you had it in you to be such a femme fatale?"

Andres glared at him. "You don't need to broadcast your sheer stupidity to the entire room."

Maeve steered the conversation back to the business at hand. "Before you all make a decision, let me be very clear. The Grover family might be grouped with the Fultons and the Shaws as Aethelburg's big three, but their actual power completely eclipses the other two. Declan, Corbin, am I wrong?"

When it came to pure, raw influence, both Declan and Corbin had to admit she was right. Their families being hailed as equals was nothing more than a carefully orchestrated smokescreen by the Grovers to deflect public scrutiny.

The tallest tree always caught the harshest wind. If the Grover Group monopolized everything openly, it would paint a massive target on their backs. They needed shields to absorb some of that political and corporate crossfire. Naturally, not just anyone in Aethelburg was qualified to act as their meat shield. Both the Fulton and Shaw empires wielded astronomical capital. At least on the surface, they maintained a delicate, mutually beneficial peace with the Grovers.

Maeve's expression turned somber. "You're all intelligent men. Even if I don't spell it out, you can calculate the risks. Right now, there are two ships in front of you. One stays in the safe zone, and the other sails straight into the Jungler's territory."

"Stay in the safe zone, and you maintain your status quo. You make millions when the market's good, and you take a minor hit when it's bad. But if you board my ship, the profits are astronomical—and so are the dangers. You could lose everything in an instant. The Grovers aren't going to just sit back and watch."

"If they get shut out of a deal this massive while you all gorge yourselves, there will be hell to pay. So before you make your choice, weigh the consequences. Don't provoke someone you can't handle just for a momentary cash grab."

Mason Reed, who had barely spoken a word until now, adjusted his glasses and let out a low chuckle. "On behalf of Gotham's Reed Group, I unconditionally support any terms Miss Vance dictates."